Appraiser Brian Witherell, from Witherell’s Auction House in Sacramento, and Jeanie Paul, of Oroville, are filmed Thursday by KIXE in Oroville. They are examining a ceramic vase that belonged to Paul’s mother, which was appraised at a couple hundred dollars. (Robin Epley — Enterprise-Record)

A then New York Giants baseball jersey from the early 1950s belonging to Dan and Lynne Pillus of Oroville was appraised Thursday between $1,500 and $2,500 at the “What’s Your Treasure?” pop-up appraisal event in the Oroville Inn in Oroville. (Lynne Pillus — Contributed)

Dan Pillus, of Oroville, the owner of a 1950s Giants jersey looks at it on an iPad because the display case was too heavy to bring into the Oroville Inn on Thursday in Oroville. The jersey was appariased at $1,500 to $2,500. (Robin Epley — Enterprise-Record)

Appraiser Brian Witherell from Witherell’s Auction House in Sacramento, and Jeanie Paul, of Oroville, are filmed Thursday by KIXE. They are examining a ceramic vase that belonged to Paul’s mother, which was appraised at a couple hundred dollars. (Robin Epley — Enterprise-Record)

OROVILLE — You never know what hidden treasures lie in a garage or attic, forgotten as memories fade and time passes them by.

That was the not-so-secret hope of many who showed up to the “What’s Your Treasure?” pop-up appraisal day in Oroville on Thursday. The event, sponsored by KIXE public television, was held at the historic Oroville Inn on Bird Street. Inside, Brian Witherell, of Witherell’s Auction House in Sacramento, sat down with dozens of locals to talk about family treasures, all while being filmed for a special KIXE episode.

“Every item has a story and we’re here to hear these stories and give some feedback and some accountability to their story,” Witherell said.

The event on Thursday was similar to the popular PBS program “Antiques Roadshow,” with which Witherell has some experience. In 2018, he toured with the PBS production, specializing in appraisals of investment-grade firearms, western Americana and 19th-century American furniture, according to his biography with the official website.

Rob Keenan, director of content for KIXE, said they’ve been doing similar appraisal events with Witherell’s for the last few months around the county, and the turnout has been spectacular.

“We started by doing one in Chico about three months ago, and it was such a success that we did three more, one in Redding, Mount Shasta and Weaverville,” Keenan said. “These small communities come out with such great stuff; you just have no idea what you’re going to get.”

One of the highlights of the day was a vintage baseball uniform brought in by Dan Pillus and his wife Lynne. As a young man in the 1950s, Pillus was on what’s known as a “farm team” for the New York Giants — which would later become the San Francisco Giants.

“I was good player,” he said, “but at the time, trying to break in, you had Willie Mays … Tom Haller …”

The team manager had access to the used jerseys from the Giants, which is how Dan Pillus wound up taking home a mix-and-match uniform — a jersey shirt from Giants pitcher Jim Hearn and pants from outfielder and World Series champ Dusty Rhodes.

Though the framed jersey was too large to bring in, the Pilluses showed Witherell a picture and were shocked to find it could be worth $1,500 to $2,500, if they can get it authenticated.

Keenan says they definitely plan on holding more appraisal events and are even hoping to turn their footage from the various days into a pilot episode that will air on KIXE.

“I’ll guarantee there will be more of these,” he said, “but keep an eye out for a local show based on this idea as a starting point.”